France
France is a country in Western Europe. Neighboring countries include Spain to the south, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany to the east, and Italy and Switzerland to the southeast. It shares a sea border (North Sea) with the United Kingdom to the north, and to the west of it is the Atlantic Ocean. Since the developers of GPS are French, naturally France is one of the more detailed countries in the game. Key Statistics * Population: 65,300,000 *Capital: Paris *Largest City: Paris (2,234,000 people) *Other major cities: Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lyon, Nice, Nantes *Government type: semi-presidential, democracy *Area Size: 674,843 km, or 260,558 square miles. *Leaning: Socialist *Benefits: France is one of the more developed countries of the game. The country already has a well developed health care, education, and welfare system. France is also one of the most militarily strongest nations in the game, with much of its equipment being up to date and also possessing nuclear weapons, and also enjoys a spot in NATO and a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. France is also allies with many critical countries such as the States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy. France also has a lot of wind energy as well. Having a high reliance on nuclear electricity, CO2 emissions are deceptively low. Paris and some other cities with nearby military bases can shoot down incoming nukes due to the military presence in that area. Major exporter of Automobiles, Aircraft, Chemicals and military hardware. Has satellite launch site in French Guiana. Overseas territories such as French Guiana, French Polynesia, Reunion, Martinique and St Pierre & Miquelon allow for easy military mobility. *Drawbacks: France has a major budget deficit, making France one of the more financially challenging countries to play as. There are a lot of political quarrels since there is a diversity in political ideologies, so you may not be able to pass laws as easily as in other countries because of France being multiparty. France's economy is weakened after the 2007-09 global financial crisis. France is also heavily dependent on oil imports. Some nuclear power stations are near cities, necessitating evacuation of said cities in case of nuclear meltdown. Having nuclear weapons make enemy nuclear weapon attacks more politically acceptable in said enemy nations. Has a very poor relations with militarily powerful and/or oil rich nations like Russia, China, Iran, Venezuela and North Korea. *Dealing with the French budget deficit: 4 types of actions are needed simultaneously. Pause the timer on the game. First, a new tax in the form of Financial Transaction tax, starting at a low level (0.10%), and increasing as soon as the law gets passed. Second, re-negotiate the interest rates of the debt, with a decrease of 0.1 to 0.2% for each banker. Keep doing so at each quarterly renewal: the rates go as low as 0.10%, until the debt disappears totally. Third, strike as many deals as possible with the major economical posts: energy (Fuel, Uranium, etc.), and then with Industry (Utility Vehicle Construction, etc.) and Farming (Vegetables, Cereals,...). Then, as for other countries and more generally, boost the spending in the sport budget in order to increase the popularity and ask athletes to say speak highly of you in public. When the Financial Transaction tax is running, after a few months, start reforms with new higher Financial Transaction tax rates offsetting the additional revenues with lowering Income tax (low bracket) and VTA, before tackling social charges for employees and companies. With such a strategy, the French budget becomes a continuous surplus after 2.5 years or so. Category:Countries Category:Countries in Europe